Future Imperfect
by Madam Rage
Summary: This is my first fic... Also AU.. Is the Future always what it seems? Is it how our favorite spies want it.. Read and find out!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimers : My niece was watching the "Wizard of Oz" and if Dorthy can tap her red rubies to get home, maybe I can do the same to my Red Gucci's to own Alias... *Running over to tap the Gucci's* Needless to say, nothing happened.. :confused: but my 5 year old niece calling me crazy... Obviously I do wish I had owned them but unfortunately I don't.. JJ does as well as ABC..  
  
Go easy on me.. I was really nervous about posting it.. By the way, I'll put a PG rating on this for a few cuss words here and there...  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"You know nothing. Before you go out to make enemies of the only people you've got left who love and support you unconditionally, don't make accusations without knowing the whole story." Will spat out angrily. "You don't know how lives have changed of the people around you in the last two years."  
  
The once Double Agent Super-Spy Sydney Bristow shrank back in shock at the vicious tone of his voice. This was obviously not the mild mannered and soft spoken Will Tippin she once knew, rather the one two years back. She never heard him raise his voice with anyone, especially her.  
  
He walked off to the corner, taking in deep breaths to get his temper back in control. He turned back and their eyes made contact. What he saw in her eyes were vulnerability and fright. He saw the shell of Sydney Bristow.  
  
She, on the other hand, saw the suspicions and weary eyes evident in his look and could not read him anymore.  
  
He sighed and started again, "Sorry for yelling.."  
  
She sat on the cot and hugged her knees, looking more like a small scolded child rather than the prophesied woman in the Rambaldi documents. "It's okay..." she whispered softly.  
  
"There's a lot that has happened in the past two years, Sydney... things that you.. hell... none of us could have imagined."  
  
She nodded her head solemnly, "Francie.. Sark..." she continued with pain filled in her voice, "..my mother..." and she spat out the next name venomously, "Arvin Sloane."  
  
Just then, the afternoon military guard came by, punching in the code to open the door to inform him that time was up. "Agent Tippin-"  
  
At hearing this, her head shot up between the guard and Will, "Agent?!?"  
  
Will noticed the confusion and incredulous tone but didn't say anything for the moment. He only nodded, "Is there anything you need?" he asked as he squatted down to her.  
  
'My damn semi-normal life back..' she thought but answered in the form of "No."  
  
He got up to walk away as the guard held the door open. With the minimal lighting of the cell, she didn't notice the metallic glint on his finger until he was outside in the hallway, 'what the hell?' "Will?"  
  
He turned back to her with another unreadable expression on her face. Since she didn't speak, he got worried and walked back in, "What is it Syd?" His old endearment slipped out mistakenly.  
  
As he was about to take another step, she broke the minute of silence, "I guess my spy skills slipped off and became rusty after two years, huh?" she tried to break the uncomfortable atmosphere with dry humor.  
  
He stood still in the same spot; his brow furrowing.  
  
'Just like Vaughn's..' she thought and the tears threatened to spill over but she didn't let them drop.  
  
He became cautiously guarded at the tone of her voice, "What are you talking about? Noticed what?"  
  
She couldn't believe that she was about to repeat the same question she had asked Vaughn just a few days ago but now to a different man, "Will.... why are you wearing that ring?" 


	2. Part 2

Here's the next part of the story.. Hope you're intrigued and enjoy it.   
  
I'll put a minor "R" for a few cuss words.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
* * *  
  
His posture went rigid and eyes hard immediately, "I'm married."  
  
At this, she stood up furiously, "No shit. Married men wear rings.." she said in a hostile voice. She knew it wasn't his fault but she couldn't understand or believe the anger that brewed and wanted to last out at anything or everything because of this uncontrollable situation she was placed in.   
  
"What the hell happened in two damn years? Suddenly everyone is now f*cking married?" she angrily threw out. "The last thing I remember is finding you in the bathtub, then the fight with Francie's double and shooting her three times. Afterwards, I think I black out... only to wake up in some shit hole of an alley in Hong Kong two years later with no Goddamn clue as to what the hell happened or what was done to me. I contact the CIA; they send Vaug-", at his name, her voice cracked and the tears finally start dropping. "Vaughn.. and he tells me that two years passed. He... he also had a ring.." With the end of this tirade, she stood to her full height in front of him, eyes all red and sad.  
  
What was most surprising of this whole unbelievable fiasco was after being on the team that brought her back to Los Angeles, Vaughn barked out his plans to Kendall then spoke to Jack, telling him that he needed time to deal with this properly and just disappeared. Even though everyone was worried that he had been gone for four days already without contact, they knew not to ask questions of his whereabouts.  
  
She rephrased what she asked, "Is Vaug- Michael married?"  
  
He stepped back to walk out of the holding cell again but turned at the door to look back at her, "What did he say?"  
  
She lowered her heard, as in defeat and it seemed all the energy drained out of her. "He.. he didn't get a chance to explain because my dad and the other agents burst through the door." She almost started to whisper, "We didn't get a chance to talk on the plane either..." her voice yet broke again, "...he would not come.. near me. It... it was.. almost as... if he...repulsed to see.. me..." she got out while trying to catch her breath during her heart wrenching sobs. She calmed down a bit, "I .. I have been .. for days.." she paused, taking another deep breath, "...and he hasn't come to see me. Not once..."  
  
He felt bad for what she was going through but about Vaughn feeling that way about her? He had to set the record straight, "He's not repulsed by you... how could you even think that?" She looked up with hopeful eyes, "He's just not here."   
  
Being in the CIA had taught him to watch for any clues to indicate anything fake so he watched her face contort, her hopeful look diminish and become replaced by anger. Her emotions were a giveaway and particularly her emotions for Vaughn. That was her major weakness, the only one thing she couldn't control properly. There was no doubt in his mind then that this was the one and original Sydney Bristow.   
  
"What do you mean he's not here?" she asked, her voice rising.  
  
It seemed to him that the old fire of Sydney Bristow was back and if she thought that this would intimidate him.. she was sorely mistaken. Maybe two years back, when he was still a civilian, this tactic would have worked and scared him silly but he was a changed man standing in front of her. He, as well as the others, were expecting this kind of emotional outburst but not with this much fury. When she was transported over from Hong Kong; she would break out of her barrier to ask and answer a few questions but they all clammed up whenever Vaughn was brought up.  
  
"He went away for a few days.. to make peace with something." He casually said to see where this conversation would lead.  
  
Anger and disbelief filled her voice, "He went away?!? Went away to make peace.. with something? Don't you mean someone?" She jumped up from the bed and started pacing, "For what? To f*ck his wife with a clear conscious now that I've been found?"  
  
He was taken back at the vulgarity that came out of her mouth. Apparently she misinterpreted what he said and although he was appalled, he wasn't going to correct her. "Back off, Bristow..." he said, his temper rising a few degrees as well, "...you know nothing and it is not my place to tell you Vaughn's status."   
  
She stands in shock at his tone of voice, "You've changed , Will.." she said, matching his tone.  
  
He doesn't answer back to what she implied but in a more casual way repeats himself, "It isn't my place to tell you about Vaughn. When he's ready, he will come to you." With this, he finally steps out of the cell and the guard closes the door.   
  
He turns back to him with deadly intent, "Not a word of this to anyone... Private Colton.. Brian. " He saw the scared surprise reflected in the other man's eyes because of the fact that Will knew his full name or that he dropped in saying in such a calculated manner.  
  
Private Colton looked scared for his life and knew he was serious. He started stuttering, "Of.. of course... not... Agent Tippin."  
  
Will nodded, knowing that he would keep his word. "I need a few more minutes."  
  
The guard nodded and practically ran away.  
  
Through the glass, Sydney watched the scene and looked at him apprehensively. "It almost seems that you actually meant what you said. Your tone and body language suggests that you've become a dangerous man."  
  
With no humor, he tells her a little about the newly reformed Will Tippin, "You have no idea. Between training for the CIA along with several forms of martial arts from a variety of sources and my wife, I now know how to kill a person in ten different ways with just only a finger."  
  
* * *  
  
Her eyes grew wide with tears again, "I never wanted to bring you into my life.."  
  
He twisted his head to work out the small kink in his neck. While doing this, he closed his eyes and his mind slipped away to when she first went missing. While Vaughn and Jack went thoroughly over the physical evidence, he went through the tapes of when Irina Derevko was locked up and all the conversations with Vaughn, Jack Bristow and her for anything. It was easy to notice the contrasting clashing personalities between mother and daughter but the most common shared trait was the very commandeering presences. 'Same ideology but different time period as well as players..' At this thought, an eerie feeling passed through him as his eyes popped back open; while he stood on one side of this glass and Sydney was on the other.  
  
He looked down for a minute to gather his thoughts and wondered if he should tell her about who else the CIA had. Even though she was exhausted, he figured he might as well tell rather her hearing this crucial news from someone else. "I am not sure if I'm supposed to tell you anything pertaining to Sark or your mother... but we have them both in custody."  
  
She had a stunned look on her face, "What?!? Sark and my mother? How?"  
  
"Sark was betrayed by his own and brought in while Vaughn had gotten to your mother." How could he explain the circumstances of how each were brought in? Everyone knew of Sark's cliched situation but how Irina Derevko was brought back was something entirely different. The CIA had gotten the 'avenging rogue agent' version from Vaughn but only nine people, including him, his wife, Jack Bristow, Eric Weiss, Marcus Dixon, Marshall Flinkman along with his wife Carrie and Irina Derevko knew the actual detailed truth of her capture.  
  
He watched as she went through the motions.  
  
"You're kidding, right? Vaughn brought in my mother? As in Michael Vaughn?"  
  
He answered her without any hesitation, "Yes."  
  
"Even my dad couldn't catch up to her..." She shook her heard, almost as if she was still trying to believe what I've just said, "He was a good agent, considerate lover then and now.. now he is the CIA's f*cking Golden Boy and husband."  
  
He would not deny, at some point in his previous CIA free life, that he didn't like that man, Michael Vaughn, especially when they first met. It was true, he was jealous of the man who came out of nowhere and stole the heart of the woman he had been so blindly in love with. Even before Sydney disappeared, he had seen the Vaughn wasn't the malicious man he had made him out to be and that he was willing to help an unknown man get back who had been discredited and lost his career. Eventually, he'd gotten over Sydney and gained the respect of a man who didn't know him but willing set him up with a new purpose in life. As soap opera-ish as this all sounded, he fell in love with his other best friend, gotten a covert governmental job and then suddenly, life took a drastic turn downhill. How his marriage comes into play in all this.. well, that's a whole different story...   
  
What she says breaks him out his current stream of thoughts. "He is the most abso-fucking-lutely perfect man." Bitterness just oozed from her.  
  
He sighed having enough of her sarcasm, "You might have known him then but he is a different man now so deal with it.." He snarled and walked away.  
  
He passed by a nervous Colton on the way out and took a deep breath before walking out through the Ops Center, knowing that his conversation with Sydney was being taped on both audio and visual. He knew someone was bound to stop him to question his actions and surely enough, it was the bald ass who probably spit shined his head, jumped into his face.  
  
"What the hell was that about Agent Tippin? She has been through enough. You didn't have to tell her about Sark and Irina Derevko."  
  
One would have thought that this bastard actually cared about her if they heard what he just said but Will and others saw through his facade. He was afraid of the shock and emotional outburst the I just put her through and also that he took away the leverage over her.   
  
Will had more of an important call to make and AD Kendall was wasting his time. "I told her what she had the right to know.." he replied coldly and walked away. He heard a few agent snicker and then go about their business.   
  
People had lost respect for Kendall for the way he did not hand the recovery of Sydney when she went missing those two years ago, but for not having a life with a wife, kids and the average white picket fenced house outside work, the Agency took pity on him and let him keep his rank. Basically, he was just show and tell.  
  
As Will reached the roof, he pulled out his CIA standard issue cell phone. Speed dialing the first number, he waited for the receiver to pick up.  
  
"What?!?" The other voice greeted harshly. A few years back, Vaughn would never have answered his phone this way but again, the people and times change.  
  
"You need to come back. She's been expecting you.."  
  
He lets out a string of cusses while his voice changes, "I know, Will. I know.. I'm just trying to .." A loud sigh is heard, "...cope with all this."  
  
In the past year that he came back, bringing along with him the infamous Irina Derevko to Los Angeles, he had gotten to know this multi-layered, perilously humble man known as Michael Vaughn. They may not have been related by blood but he became Will's brother in every sense of the word. He knew that Vaughn wouldn't hesitate to lay down his life for him and this idea was vice versa, my own for his. This also applied to the other eight members of the dysfunctional family unit they had created and were by far the most catastrophically ideal.  
  
Vaughn cleared his voice, bringing Will out of his thoughts, "Give me 'til the end of the week.." He said quietly and hung up.  
  
He walked back down to the Ops center, having a slight clue as to where he might be but if Vaughn did not want to found, they would not be able to locate him. He had become a very resourceful man and could be anywhere but everyone knew they did not have to worry about him running away because despite all the changes, he was still a true man of his word.   
  
He headed back down to his office to put a call to Jack and tell him about the session with his daughter. He rather Jack hear the whole story from him than that bald idiot.  
  
****************************************  
  
Read and review! This helps me to know if you all want me to continue on or not. 


	3. Part 3

'K.. I'm back and also putting up a new chapter. Normally, I'm a HUGE Syd and Vaughn FLUFF fan, but this chapter that I wrote is quite DARK. I don't normally write like this and believe me when I say this was VERY HARD to write..  
  
Because of what this chapter implies, I'm gonna rate this a "STRONG R", for the few cuss words but mainly for how this plays out.   
  
Chapter 3  
  
The rest of the week went by pretty quickly with Will going as well as coming back from a few meetings at Langley; Jack along with Irina, after two weeks of endless searching, bringing in another round of stolen Rambaldi pieces from Sloane and lastly, the return of Eric Weiss with his team from a long term deep cover assignment of five months from the Middle East. With Marshall's newly found position as Head of the Technical Department and his wife, Carrie's keen knowledge of decoding Milo Rambaldi, they were soon deployed as CIA liaisons to the NSA Headquarters to help decipher the latest artifacts brought back by the elder Bristows'.  
  
Throughout all of this, Sydney, meanwhile, became more aloof since her meeting with Will. She would start her day with moodiness and irritability, causing all the guards and even a few of her colleagues to steer clear of her cell. She would work out for an hour and when food was taken to her, she would eat an minimal amount and leave the rest.   
  
All the people were still captivated by her lithe figure and the emanating persona as she was monitored. For all the Agents who remembered when Irina Derevko was held in that same cell, creeps were felt during the week when one of the Agents pointed out that Sydney had been working out in her cell for the past three hours non-stop. They had been aware that she had not been eating properly and the rate at which she was working out, she was viable to burnout from exhaustion.   
  
* * *   
  
Eric Weiss decided to go in early that morning since he had gotten a call the night before informing him that he did not sign the last few statements and finish writing the last of the reports.. Of all the things to forget, he didn't sign his name. As he walked in, he saw that most of the Agents were crowded around one of the monitoring screens. The Agent that was standing off to the side saw him and quickly stood up straight.  
  
Weiss frowned, "What's going on? What is everyone watching?"  
  
Rick, the Agent with glasses, that went rigid walked over to him, "Eric, it's Ms. Bristow..."  
  
Weiss nodded his head, "Yeah?"  
  
"She does her daily routine of yoga and then moves onto martial arts.. Well," he sighed before continuing, "..this morning, out of the blue, she started 4 am-"  
  
"Four in the morning?" Weiss quickly looked down at his watch and it read 7:45am. At 4 in the morning, he was still off in La-La land. "What?!? Are you serious, Rick? And no one's gone down there to try and stop her?!?" He angrily asked while walking to the monitor with Rick in tow.  
  
At the sound of his heavy foot-falls, many of the Agents were broken out of their trances. As they turned, they saw the a grim look upon the Senior Agents' face and many of them scampered away, scared of facing his wrath.  
  
When Eric got to the monitors, he stopped dead in his tracks, doing a double-take of the scene that was being played in front of him. On the screen, it was almost as if he was taken back to two years ago, watching the exact same moves being done presently. He remembered when Irina Derevko was in that cell, working out as well, and he knew this because he had to monitor her on and off for a weeks as well. Was doing yoga as well as the sequence of practiced moves a part of the Bristow women genetic makeup? If one didn't look close enough, Sydney could almost pass for the exact copy of her mother.   
  
Since Vaughn was still unreachable, he decided to take the risk upon himself to try and go talk some sense into her. He heard that she had been back, as unbelievable as it may have seemed, he had just gotten back to the states yesterday afternoon and was sent directly for debriefings so he had not gotten the chance to visit her.  
  
Eric remembered the first time his best friend disappeared, a week after the horrendous scene at Sydney's apartment. After seeing that, Vaughn became unglued and suddenly just shut down completely. The following week, without a word to anyone, he left unexpectedly for his birthplace in France. At his unpredictable behavior, the CIA decided to monitor him and within another five days, he slipped from their radar and completely disappeared.   
  
Since that incident, Eric reshaped himself to the fullest, going back to retrain for fieldwork again through the CST method. His access pounds, instead of shedding, he built up as muscles. He had delved fully into work, inputting his value to the CIA, living up to his Senior Agent status, and commanding teams successfully to make major dents in the demented Arvin Sloane's plans all the while searching for both of his friends, Michael Vaughn and Sydney Bristow  
  
As he was about to go down to her cell, Rick informed him of the turn of events, "Weiss.. Vaughn just went in to see Ms. Bristow.."  
  
"When? Where the hell did he get back from this time?" Weiss asked, surprised.  
  
"About 15 minutes before you did.." Rick shrugged his shoulders. "And don't have the slightest clue but when he came through the doors... he seemed rather like a man possessed, " he finished, with a somber look.  
  
"Man possessed?" Weiss repeated his words, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I don't know how to explain it. It might seem crazy-"  
  
"Crazy isn't a word our lives, Rick. After everything we've seen and done, along with Irina Derevko's compliance, Will's wife and Sydney's reappearance, surreal seems to be more of a fitting word."  
  
Rick nodded his head, "True. When Vaughn walked in though.. it was like the whole place just.. tingled, for a lack of a better word, with tension. As if an omen of sorts. He had a cagy but calculated look-" He stopped talking when he noticed on the screen that Vaughn had just walked up to the holding cell and pointed to Eric to watch.  
  
All the Agents stood mesmerized by her grace-like movements, the concentrated precision of how she executed her kata. Eric as well as the others also noted a moment later, the gradual change in her sequence, slowing down with the shadow-boxing and eased into stretching, becoming sensuous a few seconds before Vaughn got there.   
  
And when Vaughn walked through the door, each taking in the others' looks until finally locking on, "Oh shit... let the fireworks begin..." Weiss muttered under his breath.  
  
* * *   
  
She heard the familiar noise of the gates rising. Obviously, somebody was coming to see her and even with her bitchy-ness, someone still did not comprehend the clue of her not wanting to receive any visitors. But this time, it was different because even though she was in the middle of kata, she felt something akin to a thousand needle pricks on the back of neck. She continued her sparring with less ardor but more of stretching, anticipation rising, giving her a feel heightened senses.  
  
The feeling of being watched charged the atmosphere and she hadn't even turned around to see who came to see her. Knowing that only one person in the world could muster so many emotions, she carefully hid them and finally turned around when she heard the beep of the electronic door opening and his steps in her restrained territory.   
  
"Hello, Sydney..."   
  
This was the first visit as well as the first words he said to her, after almost ten days of her being in this cell, subjected to various medical and physical tests along with stressful visits from friends, and colleagues.  
  
The guard, Private Colton, not even waiting to be dismissed quickly shut the door behind him and went away, knowing that privacy, although they were being taped, was what they needed. As much as he wanted to witness their infamous reunion, he also knew, smartly enough that he valued his life, and did not want to fall into the bad graces of either.   
  
Both heard the snick of the door closing, distracting them for a moment and their finally, brown eyes met the greenish hazel eyes of her counter-part. She took in his appearance, trying to spot all the changes that could have taken place within those last two years.   
  
His hair, the never ending case of bed hair and more than his usual case of peach fuzz adorned his handsome face but it was one thing that was the most visible, a healed skinny and long scar ran from his right cheek down all the way to his jaw. From whomever or whatever he had gotten it from, it must have hurt quite badly but the most significant change of all was in his eyes. The once mischievous, worried and sometimes shy sparkle of his eyes that he used to have were now vacant. His eyes, now were haunted, hollow, full of pent up grief and dangerous anger evident in the current gaze of this man.  
  
Her feelings quickly plummeted from being excited, happy and hopefully to betrayal and anger the instant she saw the ring on his finger. Didn't he have the decency to remove it before coming to her?  
  
He read her eyes, lighting up to cold anger as he followed her narrow gaze back to his left hand, particularly the ring finger.  
  
"How nice of you to grace me with your presence.. Michael." Her first words she snarled, the fury building in her, just gearing for a fight. She did not hide the blatant stare of disgust of his ring.  
  
Although he was shocked at her vicious tone and stare, he didn't let the surprise show. He was stupefied at change of demeanor of Sydney Bristow but then, he went through a lot himself so in a way, he understood her explosive behavior. He wondered if she snapped at everyone who went to visit or was her anger particularly vented towards him?  
  
"Has this been the Sydney Bristow Welcome everyone has been bestowed upon?"  
  
She was astounded by his apathetic nature and decided to play along to his stoicism, "Nope... only you've received this kind of special treatment."   
  
A wicked humorless grin crossed his face, "I'm so honored." His eyes narrowed in anger. "Bitchy aren't we today?"  
  
"Try everyday," she retorted with the same pitch. "Are we just going to stand around exchanging witty remarks or are you here for a reason?"  
  
A exasperated sigh left from him. "You don't need to keep this front, Sydney. This is me... so drop the attitude."  
  
"I could ask the same of you." She stared at his expressionless face and the way one of his veins was about to pop, she understood that she got through to him.   
  
Good... the green eyed Tin Man did have feelings.  
  
He closed his eyes while taking a deep breath and remembered the last time he saw her. She was ecstatically happy when he surprised her with a weekend away to Santa Barbara. Since then, he had only his memories as a vigil of her. He quickly opened his eyes and scrutinized her, hoping that she wasn't a figment of those bouts of delirium he went through. He walked over to her, close enough to watch but he didn't dare touch. Instead, he observed her from head to foot and this time, he trying to assess all the changes within her.  
  
She was startled at the sudden change in his posture and stare. She felt as she was under a microscope but stood still, that previous feeling of a thousand needle pricks came back as she watched him coming to her.   
  
He began to circle her.. slowly.   
  
She held her breath in shock. She stood up to her full height not wanting to show that he intimidated her as he finished and stood in front of her.   
  
He stared into her eyes and the old spark between them flared as he was raising his hand to cup her cheek..  
  
She saw this move with the corner of eye and wanted so badly to feel his skin on hers but when it was only a few inches away, she wasn't prepared for the feelings when he finally touched her. As heavenly as it felt, she remembered the small piece of metal. How could something so small have the devastating effect of a nuclear bomb? Her eyes became filled with contempt, "What are you doing?"   
  
"God... you have no idea how much I missed you-" his voice cracked slightly.  
  
She would have willing gave up her next breath for a chance to be comforted in his arms but he wasn't hers anymore. He belonged to someone else, "Not that much apparently since you've got a ring on your finger."  
  
"What?" He had a dumbfounded look on his face.  
  
She tried to pull out of his hands but he wouldn't budge. Didn't he understand that the feel of that little cold ring on her cheeks felt the equivalent of her being shot, stabbed and electrocuted all at the same time? She couldn't help herself as the next words spilled out of her mouth frostily, "What's the problem, Vaughn? Here to make peace with the past or is the missus' not satisfying you enough? Is that why you're-"  
  
He let her go immediately, the atmosphere hostile again as well his demeanor. "Where the hell do you get off? I came because I wanted to... not out of any kind of obligation. I want to tell you about this." He held up left hand and extended the ring finger.  
  
She laughed sarcastically, "Great. Just don't tell me wasn't Alice. In fact, I'll save you the trouble of telling me your life because I don't even want to hear it."  
  
"It's not Alice." His voice didn't rise, but the irate tone was evident in the way he spoke, "That's your problem, Sydney. You don't give people a chance to explain to redeem themselves. It was one of your worst problems, even back then."  
  
"What the f*ck are you talking about? Are you saying that I was impossible-"  
  
He took a deep breath, trying to organize his thoughts before continuing. He remembered back when she saved his life by getting the antidote for the virus he had gotten in Taipei. Back then, they weren't allowed to acknowledge each other, much less their feelings, but when she and Will saw him with Alice, she couldn't hide the disappointment and betrayal when they bumped into each other at that restaurant. And before the mission to Nice, he had wanted to explain the circumstances, but she obviously didn't want to hear it. He understood that it was a self defense mechanism, for not wanting to feel pain of opening up, but it also one of her bad traits. In trying so hard to protect herself, she wouldn't let someone in...  
  
He heard her panting, anger the foremost emotion. "Stop trying to put words in my mouth. I didn't say that. I will tell you that you never give someone a chance to explain their actions. It was something that you did two years ago-"  
  
"What?!? What the hell-" She exploded, not believing his nerves.  
  
This time he interrupted her, "I.. am... not.. finished.." He stressed out each word in a forceful tone which shut her up quickly.   
  
It was the one tone she never heard from him before. She knew he had a dark side, obviously, for when Agents were trained to interrogate but she never thought he would use it on her. As much it scared, it also turned her on... but she really didn't want to dwell on her rising heat or hear the explanation this time. She did the only thing she could think of...   
  
She struck... physically.  
  
As she launched into a series of punches, he was totally unprepared for her attack and she was able to partially land the first one into his jaw. The next one she threw, he easily deflected it away. Changing her attack, she next stepped back and dove into a roundhouse kick, which again, he deflected.   
  
This went one for a few minutes until she somehow she quickly faked a kick and surprised him with a grappling hook. Instead of full contact, she stopped as she managed to get the upper hand and grabbed him by the wrists to slam him against the wall.   
  
Despite the two year gap away from each other, the chemistry flared up again when two locked gazes as both were breathing hard and moments after, awareness began to creep in with the position they were in. He knew that she knew if he wanted to break away, he could do so easily but both were mesmerized at being this close, for him, two years and her, only a few months, according to her time-line but in actuality, way too much time apart.  
  
His eyes sparkled with lust and when she caught it, she swooned a bit, feeling light-headed. Taking advantage of her slight weakness, he twisted them around, this time, her back against the wall but she didn't let go of his wrists.  
  
Since the human body was known as a conductor, it seemed that bursts of electricity flashed through them. She gasped when she felt his muscles flex under hands and unconsciously she started to rub his wrists.  
  
Not being able to take the tension, he leaned down as her mouth came up... only a hairs-breath apart when a frown came over as she stopped massaging around his wrists.  
  
He couldn't take it anymore, he just had to taste her lips. He had been too long without the soft supple feeling of them but when he saw her frown and stiffen on his wrists, he detoured from his original intended target and instead rested his forehead against hers. He could no longer control the emotions in his voice, "What is it, baby?"  
  
She suddenly became aware that they were probably being taped so she leaned in closer to his left ear, lowering her voice considerably, "Vaughn-"  
  
He shivered from the contact. In those months that he had to endure without her, she always occupied his dreams and when he was awake, she filled his thoughts. She became his obsession, where he lived and breathed only her.  
  
She whispered into his ear, "Vaughn... why do have scars on your wrists?" She lowered her voice even more, afraid to ask but knew she needed to know, "On both of them?"  
  
Of all the things he expected her to say, that was not it. He suddenly wretched himself out of her grip and the room temperature dropped yet again. A panicky but angry look flitted in his eyes but he didn't answer.  
  
She held his gaze, watching the emotions flashed quickly through his eyes; sorrow, fury, grief, anguish, pain, hurt, remorse and most of all, suffering. She knew all these feelings quite well because she first experienced them with the discovery of SD-6's Arvin Sloane had the man she loved killed and the whole elaborate deception.  
  
She had felt sorrow for an innocent man who was killed for his slip of tongue; fury directed towards the people who killed him; grief for taking the life of the man who gave her the chance to life a normal life; anguish of losing that chance; pain for losing that last link to normalcy; remorse because it was her fault, inadvertently and the suffering was going to the five stages of grief. There was a time she felt she wanted to give up and end her suffering when she learned that SD-6 was rogue, not even a part of the real CIA, that she had been working for the very people she made a vow she would fight against.   
  
That was the last straw..   
  
She had lost the righteous direction in her life and after finding her fiancee dead, at the time who she thought was her soul-mate. For a moment in time, she lost her will to live. She remembered how easy it would have been during those few days to find something... anything sharp enough to nick at the spot right under her hands... She knew full well of the signs... over the years, there were many times she thought about doing it, but something held her back, rather someone. She once believed that Daniel Hecht was the one but she was obviously mistaken because she did find her true soul-mate in the form of her CIA Handler.   
  
She could not believe it...   
  
Her head snapped up at her last thought and she understood the full implications of the scars of his wrists... She instantly dropped the facade of her hidden feelings, "Oh my god... Vaug- Michael?!?"   
  
The intensity of her look brought out the rawness of his old feelings and they started to surface without warning. Tears started to pool around his eyes, backing up a step for every one she took forward.  
  
"Michael... please..." Tears were streaming down her face as she watched him back away.  
  
He walked over to the door, punching in the code as well as using the electronic key. He stepped into the hallway as the door automatically shut behind him. He looked in her eyes, through the glass, "I.. I'm sorry.... but I can't deal with this... Not now.." He dropped his head, almost in shame.  
  
She couldn't help but cry, "Don't go.. baby... It's okay... I understand... more than you'll know."  
  
He lifted his head and saw that she only spoke the truth. No matter how many Goliath-type obstacles they were thrown at them; ironically from her mother killing his father to the very evil forces that brought her into his life and now to her two year disappearance, one thing remained constant. No matter what, each of them were the others' touchstone... the thing that kept them sane.  
  
She put her hand on the glass, "I'm here... honey. Please believe that..." Hope filled her eyes, "I'm real..."  
  
He hesitantly lifted his right hand and placed it onto to the glass where her's were. He began to ramble, not fully aware of what he was admitting, "It was hell without you. I.. I was so lost, Syd... so damn lost and broken-"  
  
She noticed a painful nostalgic look that came across his face, and quickly interrupted him before he went in too deep into the memories, "I'm sorry for what you went through because of me.." She shook her head in shame of what he endured for her..  
  
He came out of his broken reverie and looked at her with an open expression.   
  
She was shocked at what his face displayed and the tears started dropping.  
  
"I've got to go-" And he finally walked away leaving a weeping Sydney behind...  
  
********************************************************************  
  
Okay people, DEFINITELY review for this. It was hard to write to imagine Vaughn's devastation of losing her.  
  
Again, reviews are good for my ego.. lol.. because it tells me if I should continue on with this or not. 


	4. Part 4

'k.. Thank you very much to **Snowangel4** for being my first reviewer. Another **major** thanks to **tootiefruitiegurl** for pointing out about the review thingie. 

Sorry to everyone who couldn't leave a review, but no worries, it's been fixed. Now, there's **no excuse** for not leaving a comment or two. **: )**

I'm glad you all are enjoying my story.   
A **Strong PG rating** for a few cuss words..  


Chapter 4

  
For the past nine months since Irina Derevko had been back into CIA's custody, she had been nothing but productive in helping them to find missing Rambaldi pieces, all the while putting major kinks in Sloane's plans and even turning in some of her old illegal contacts.  
  
For those two weeks of searching, they bared the fruits of their labor when they were able to confiscate crucial pieces of artifacts before the madman could get his hands on them.  
  
To be more agile in their search, she and Jack would often split up for three days. But this time, as unbelievable as it was, in those three days, their world was tilted askew when the CIA called them during the mission. Only once before, throughout the eight months had the CIA interrupt their flow and that was when a sighting of Sloane was nearby of their destination. With dire hope of maybe finding their daughter, they quickly abandoned the mission and went straight to capture the bastard, but unfortunately, by the time they got there, his trail was long gone and their desperate search for Sydney was useless.   
  
Since that day of being so close to finding any type of clue that would lead them to her, little by little, she lost her domineering personality of being stoic and became more of an emotionally desperate mother in trying to find her daughter.  
  
Another eight days went by, while she went though a series of debriefs and testings before the CIA were satisfied. She had been itching to see Sydney up close because she had only been granted glimpses though the monitors.  
  
Irina tried to note all the behavioral as well as physical changes that might have taken place with her. She wasn't too surprised at her ability to deal with a lot of the trauma, in fact, she in awe of how in stride Sydney dealt with most of it but it was the little changes that were more significant.  
  
To show good will towards all of her help, the CIA granted her request to meet with Sydney but with one condition. They agreed not to record the audio but there would be not negotiating on the visual.   
  
That would definitely stay.   
  
The most logical open but secure place seemed to be the roof. She had gone up an hour earlier for meditation. Being out in the open, without having fears of being hunted, she began to find her inner strength all the while reminiscing back to when they had gotten that cataclysmic clue along with Jack telling her what she missed. This was how it lead to finding Sydney...  
  
_This was the second time they received the call and she could not believe what she was being emailed. As soon as they sent her the files with a recording of her supposed voice, for some reason, her maternal instincts kicked in and somehow she knew that this was the real thing.   
  
Before she made the call to her husband, she wanted to be sure that it was really her. Loading the wave file and using her old access codes for Echelon, she verified in at least six different ways the pitch and tone of her daughter's voice. And every single time, a 98 percent accuracy rate was in favor that this was the voice of her long lost Sydney.  
  
Although Jack didn't show it, publicly, he also fell apart when Sydney disappeared. For a father losing his precious daughter, it was the most hardest thing he had to endure, even more harder than she faking her death all those years ago. And having been in the spy business, he was able to control his emotions much more than Michael Vaughn.   
  
Michael Vaughn, an enigma but his heart on his sleeve for Sydney. Ironic, of all things that he fell in love with the daughter of the woman who cut short his father's life. She thought that it was only a crush of being caught in an adrenalin filled lust. Both of them were very attractive people, her daughter's enchanting mystery was a contradiction to his good boy noble traits but when she was gone, his world annihilated on that day.   
  
She made the call to her husband, though still inadvertently married to him under a different name, neither did anything to change their status, to break the news gently. He was livid, at first but when she told him about her instincts as well as what she did on Echelon, he grew somber and listened to her explanation about a female caller from Hong Kong that had contacted the CIA just a few hours before at the Joint Task Facility with the pretense of being Sydney Bristow. With the new enhanced CIA phones, Marshall had installed so many various updates, from video transceivers as well as hand held computers and other little perks, she sent him the files and out of fear, he did something that she never thought he would easily do.  
  
He quietly asked her to stay on the line with him.   
  
She was surprised at his uncommon request and obliged him willingly. A few intense minutes passed until his voice broke, "I have the strangest feeling about this." He was so obviously rattled that he admitted openly about his feelings, something that he only did in the presence of their privacy. His next question surprised her yet again because it had been years since she heard this tone from him, "Does Michael know?"  
  
Of all the things to ask, she was secretly reveled in the fact that he still had that compassionate and caring nature that she remembered from two decades ago. "I don't know, **Nezhnyj-" **she unknowingly whispered softly and held her breath, afraid of his reaction to her slip. It was one of her favorite Russian terms of endearment she used to call him which meant **tender hearted**.  
  
The more believable outcome was he chose to ignore it or maybe, just maybe, he did not notice as he told her to switch on the COMM, although nothing really ever slipped pasted this man. He went back to the Jack Bristow, emotionless and ruthless agent within a matter of seconds. "Who's on the COMM?"  
  
Static was held momentarily when a green agent with fear in his voice answered, "Sir.. Sir.. This... is... is Agent Taylor."  
  
A condescending sigh was heard and Jack replied in his infamous tone, "Get me Agent Tippin now."  
  
Almost instantly, the switch occurred, "Will here."  
  
Pleasantries weren't exchanged as he went straight to the point, steel in his words, "Is this a joke or game Sark's elaborated?"  
  
"I don't think so, Jack. I just came back from interrogating him and from the looks of it, he was just as astonished as the rest of us when I told him about Sydney."  
  
"Hmm.." was followed by a silence, "What do you think?"   
  
If Will was surprised by Jack's unsure tone, his poker face didn't give it away. He knew the type of man Jack was and what it cost him to lose his daughter. He was broken out of musings when the next question was asked hesitantly.  
  
"Have you informed Michael?"  
  
"Apparently I didn't have to-" Will sighed before answering, "-because he already knew, though I have no clue how. When I got through on his cel, he was boarding a plane. Destination, Hong Kong. He said he was only three hours away and from the time I spoke to him, I can safely guess that he's half way there already."  
  
"What?" Irina gasped. "Jack-" all of her pretenses of being an unfeeling woman dropped instantly, "-you have to get there before him. I don't think he'll be able to handle it if his hopes are shot down again."  
  
Begrudgingly, Will fully agreed with her assessment.  
  
Kendall had just walked in and when he noticed that Agent Taylor wasn't on the COMM, immediately he knew who was on the other end. Not wanting to be left out, he turned on the main conference line so he could participate in the conversation that was now heard by everyone in that room.  
  
"I understand that, Irina and from my position, it is about a 45 minute drive."   
  
"Kendall, what are you doing?" Will asked angrily.  
  
He chose to ignore the younger Agent but caught the last part of Jack's message. The screech of tires were heard also, "I'm already on the road."  
  
Mad was an understatement as Kendall turned about 5 different shades of red, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!?"  
  
"Going to Hong Kong to check out this lead," he replied. "I've got a tail."  
  
"I've already alerted covert teams to check. You don't have the authority to abort the mission-"  
  
"Do you need to be reminded that neither Irina or I are under your jurisdiction?" Jack harshly said.  
  
Taking a few deep breaths to calm down from being baited but didn't stop himself from retorting, "And need **I** remind you that this is a supposed lead that not you but **I **received?" He finished, stressing out his first person possessions in a condescending tone.  
  
Irina was fuming, "You arrogant son of a bitch. Who do you think you are to be playing with Sydney's life?"  
  
"Tread light, Derevko. Do watch your tone," he said haughtily, "While the two of you are going after this supposed lead, the Rambaldi pieces are in danger of falling into Sloane's hands."  
  
For all the people who were listening to this exchange, they were appalled by Kendall's insensitivity and wasn't too shocked at Jack Bristow's anger for they agreed with his feelings.  
  
Jack snapped, "This is my daughter we are talking about. I'll follow any and all leads pertaining to her, **you fucking bastard."**  
  
Stunned silence followed after the outburst and Kendall looked around the room to notice the looks of pity and shame towards him.   
  
"I'm the only one going to Hong Kong." Jack cut through the tension by relaying his position and then explaining the new circumstances, "Irina is staying behind to track the pieces."  
  
**"What?!?"** It seemed that the man was hyperventilating, "Are you crazy man?!? You left her behind to track the pieces? Use your head, or did she gain you trust so easily? In fact, do you remember the last time you let your guard down? " He rubbed it in, "Or maybe, its your other **head** that's clouded your judgement."  
  
A quiet female gasp was heard on the COMM, as if it was on a loud speaker due to the hush that fell upon the Ops center again because of Kendall's crudeness.  
  
"Consider yourself lucky that you're halfway around the world away from me." Jack didn't bother to hold back the warning in his vicious tone.  
  
Shocked that he would say something like that so openly and pleased that he now had evidence to finally put Jack in his place with the 'Higher Ups', he let out a conniving smirk, hopeful to bait him some more. "Are you threatening me, you-"  
  
"That's quite enough, Assistant Director."   
  
Kendall turned quickly to see his superior officer, Director Ben Devlin in the room along with one of Vaughn's friend, Craig, next to him with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. What he didn't know was Devlin was walking by being updated on the progress of Vaughn's mission as well as the Bristows' by Craig when he noticed was everyone looking tense in the COMM's room and became curious to see why. He diverted his way from going to his office and walked over to see what was happening there only to end up listening to Kendall's tirade for the past five minutes.  
  
"You're relieved."  
  
Kendall's mouth dropped open, "But sir-"  
  
"Did I not make myself clear?"  
  
"Yes, sir.. but are you aware that Jack's left Derevko behind to track the artifacts?" He quickly got out.  
  
"Fully aware." Anger flashed across Devlin's face, "How do you think they have brought in the others before so quickly?"  
  
"Hold it, you knew about this?!? About how he would leave her freely to pursue-" Kendall asked heatedly, feeling left out of the loop.  
  
"Excuse me?" Devlin's eyes narrowed, "But since when do I have to explain the CIA's decisions or myself to you?"  
  
He knew he was in trouble, "Sorry sir, I didn't mean it like that."  
  
"Of course not," Sarcastically Devlin let out. "Stop disrupting the mission by causing more problems and stress for the Bristows'. In my office now." He said, brooking no arguments. "Agent Tippin, you have full operational authorization of this Ops and Agent Craig will be assisting you. Understood?"  
  
"Of course sir."  
  
Right before leaving, he knew the COMM's were still open, "Good luck you two.. on both endeavors."  
  
"Thank you, Devlin." Irina's soft voice spoke for the both of them.   
  
Kendall looked around the room, noting the looks of disgust at his way. When he finally landed on Will and Craig, both of the younger Agents had smug grins across their faces. He knew he was disgraced and reluctantly followed out the Director.  
  
"Never thought I'd live to see the day **Assistant Director Baldy** go up in flames." The previous Agent on the COMM said and a round of snickers along with a few laughs were heard.  
  
"I agree with you." Irina snorted and then went back to the business at hand. "Jack, how close are you?" she asked timidly, wondering how much closer he was to the safe-house.  
  
With her tone, everyone jerked back into action; Will and Craig with Jack while everyone was surprised at Irina's request to have Agent Taylor's assistance.   
  
Even he was astonished, "Are.. are yo.. you sure Ma'am?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
For the next half hour, the Ops center was in flurry with orders being relayed back and forth, setting up with all contingencies for immediate evacuation for the woman, whoever it turned out to be in Hong Kong.   
  
Jack informed them that he had reached the safe-house. For the next two minutes, the footsteps of about an elite team of nine agents, including him, were heard running up the stairs and securing the area. The next moment, all noises ceased and the nervous excitement vibrated through out the Ops Center.   
  
Noticing the sudden hush, "What is it Jack?" Irina asked.  
  
Everyone was too caught up in the happenings to notice the nervousness in both of the Bristows' voices.  
  
"What if-" he cleared his throat, "What if it isn't her?"  
  
"Well... we'll never know unless you walk through the door," she said wryly.  
  
Easier said that done, he thought grimly. For him to go back into Agent-mode, it was easier because then compartmentalizing his emotions for any kinds of upsets and disappointments were dealt with without remorse.   
  
They wanted the element of surprise on their side, just in case if this was a set up of any kind, they would have the upper hand of taking out this imposter who claimed to be his infamous daughter.   
  
When they reached the fifth floor, stealthy the agents surrounded the door while one of them used a Thermal Reader to scope out how many people were in the room. Scanning it twice against the wall and checking once again, he locked onto them. "Sir, there appears to be only two individuals in that room, sitting across from one another."  
  
"Are you sure, Agent Diggs?"  
  
"Yes sir. It doesn't seem that the people are planning or doing anything rash... no elevations in body temperatures. In my opinion, now would be the time to strike."  
  
Relaying on the COMM's that they were in position and ready, Jack signaled the first wave of agents to kick down the down. As they did and moved out the way, he along with three others followed him in, fanning out with their semi-automatics and attached lasers, pointed at the only two people occupying the room.  
  
Neither of the two showed any reaction with the surprise intrusion or even broke their eye contact as the green eyed man on the chair obviously repeating what he had said before to the brunette woman sitting on the bed, "Since that night... you were missing-" he couldn't control the pain in his voice as he quietly said, "-you've been missing for almost two years." It was obvious that they weren't aware of their surroundings or the danger that they were in but only each other. "The ring-"  
  
Agent Phillips breathed out, "Oh my god-"  
  
Jim Lennox, last of the two agents to go in was in shock, "I don't believe this," it was then that the two became aware of the others as they looked up in surprise. All the people caught the anguished looks on their faces. And when they locked gazes again, everyone felt very uncomfortable, as if interrupting one of their private moments.  
  
"What is it?" Will asked, fear in his voice.  
  
From looking back and forth between the two, Jack's expression was the most heartbreaking, "Syd... **Sydney?!?"**  
  
Irina's broken voice was heard, "Is... is it... really.. her?" It was obvious she was crying as well.  
  
With tears in her eyes, she broke her gaze from Vaughn and looked up to the man that was her father, "Dad?" She rose from the bed, and took a few steps towards the man, "Daddy?"  
  
He dropped his gun, as well as his stony facade, quickly closing the small distance between them and pulled her into his arms, "Sydney-" his tears started rolling.  
  
For everyone who was a witnessing this reunion, there wasn't a dry eye.   
  
Unfortunately, it was cut short when Agent Parks' sensory alarm started to beep. "Shit..." She muttered and the others looked at her hesitantly. She started to explain, "Sir, I had set up sensor lasers as we were coming up the stairs. According to the readings, there's been a few breaches downstairs."  
  
Jack had no choice but to let go, although he didn't want to lose the physical feel of her, "Damn.. I knew I was being tailed on the way here."   
  
Will relayed that everything was set, from their getaway transportation to the awaiting CIA jet.  
  
Even before Jack was about to give the orders, the Agents got into position. Adrenalin was flowing, giving them all an extra edge.   
  
Sydney noticed her dad looking behind her. She turned in time to see him handing Vaughn an earpiece while locking eyes, a mutual understanding pass, that no matter what the circumstances they were about to face, each would willing forfeit their life in protect this woman.   
  
She was astonished, watching Vaughn stand up slowly, cold resolve overtaking his emotions as he pulled out the gun from the hidden holster from his back. It seemed to her that he became the epitome of the ruthless Agent her father had once was.  
  
When the Agents went into their tactical defensive modes, two by two went out the door to sweep the hall. Indicating that it was safe, they all went out only to run into a hail of bullets a few seconds later. Luckily, none of them were hit as they started running back the other way to the second staircase hidden behind one of the walls.   
  
"The safe-house's been compromised." Jack said over the COMM's.  
  
Shooting the key access pad, the wall opened immediately and they ran down two flights when she was out of breath. She couldn't believe how out of shape she was.  
  
Before Will or anyone from the Ops center had the chance to respond, Irina beat them all, "That gunfire sounded too close for comfort. Are you all okay?"  
  
"Yes." Sarcasm dripped from Vaughn's voice. "Never a dull moment in our lives."  
  
Hearing her pant, the Agents ahead of her let up on their speed while Lennox, Phillips, her father and Vaughn were on the rear, shooting back at their pursuers.   
  
Knowing they slowed down for her, she became angry. "Don't slow down on my account." She said frostily because pity was something she never wanted. As she started to breathe harder to accommodate her burning lungs, her anger brewed. Feeling a little dizzy, she slipped and almost fell until a pair of arms caught to steady her back while still scrambling down.   
  
She tingled for a moment, remembering that it was almost similar in the way he pulled her while running out of that building in Stuttgart when chasing her mother. She was still slightly weak from being immobile for so long and he caught her masked look of exhaustion.   
  
When he stopped suddenly and pulled her to do so as well, everyone followed his lead, puzzled .   
  
"Vaughn-" Her father frowned.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked, searching his eyes but he was oblivious to everything around him but her. Everyone watched in awe he picked her up without a second thought, cradling her gently into his arms as he started rapidly going down the stairs, effortlessly holding the woman in this arms.  
  
No one dare questioned or spoke, afraid of his wrath as they followed his lead.   
  
After four more flights of stairs, they finally reached the main floor. Just as they were about to go out, Jack and Lennox threw smoke bombs that detonated as explosives once the bombs were done with expelling the smoke.   
  
A jeep and a van were waiting outside as Will promised. The driver in the jeep signaled them to the van and came over the COMM's to tell him that he was the decoy. They quickly veered towards the larger vehicle. Everyone jumped in while Vaughn still had her in his arms, and her father and Lennox the last two to get in as the they sped off, listening to the minimal gunfire behind them.   
  
Most of the agents were slightly out of breathe, carrying an extra 60 to 70 pounds of ammunition, Marshall's mini gadgets and other tact gear but no one complained for Vaughn had carried 140 pounds down all those steps without breaking a sweat.  
  
They watched as he maneuvered around the van and put her down gracefully next to her father while becoming mute and scrutinizing her features to see if anything was amiss. No one was surprised to see her fall asleep, her head on Jack's shoulder. His eyes became full of tears, but this time, he didn't let them drop.  
  
At the current speed, the ride to the private airstrip took only half the time. When they got there and the car stopped a few feet away from the jet, being the light sleeper Sydney was, woke up, going into full alert.   
  
Not wanting to spend anymore time crammed next to three of the most feared CIA Agents, they quickly got out with the pretense of sweeping the already secured area.   
  
Jack, Sydney and Vaughn were the last to get out. The atmosphere became tense unwittingly so Vaughn got out, followed by Jack, who held out his hand for her. When she got out, she took a deep breath of air only to feel wheezy again. This time, her father noticed and reached for her only to have Vaughn come out of nowhere and scooped her into his arms again.   
  
All the agents who witnessed this before weren't too caught off guard but all the others who were seeing this for the first time, dumbfounded and envious expressions were apparent on their faces as they watched him carry her 20 feet from the tarmac and up the stairs of the jet.   
  
Majority of all the female agents, along with a very few males, literally swooned. Although they weren't acquainted with Agent Vaughn, he was quite well known through the Agency for his brains, chivalry and of course, his gorgeous looks... but that was before she disappeared.   
  
They had rumors of him going rogue and his 360 degree personality transformation but no one had to courage to ask or call him on it. His name became feared throughout the spy world, the black market and even Sloane, who put a bounty on his head ever since he took Irina Derevko back to Los Angeles.  
  
As the plane took off, Jack let out a semi-tense sigh, noting that his daughter and Vaughn sat on opposite ends of the plane. He got up to personally thanked the agents for all their help.   
  
An hour and half into the flight, Jack finally gave up when Sydney kept looking back and forth between him and Michael. When he brought up the young man's name, she became moody and just shut down. Trying another method, he coaxed her to eat but she refused adamantly and went out like a light, without any sleeping pills.  
  
He spent the next hour watching her sleep along conferring with Ops Center and then switching back to only Irina to reassure her that it was really their daughter.  
  
When he caught the intensity of Michael's stare, he caressed her face delicately and pulled up a blanket to cover her. He quietly went over to sit next to him. It was nagging him as to how he knew about her, "I spoke to Will before heading to Hong Kong. I also asked him if he informed you but he said you already knew. How did you know?"  
  
Closing his eyes and trying to work out the cramp in neck, he slumped back into the leather seat.   
  
It was the first time, in almost four months, that he had seen the younger Agent let his guard down. He thought that the man also fell asleep, he was about to get up to leave when Vaughn started to explain.  
  
"I assume Irina's listening as well."   
  
"She doesn't have to if-"  
  
"It's okay." He took a few breaths before starting, "I don't know how to explain it to either of you." He sighed, "A few months back, I had passed out from drinking more than my usual-"   
  
Jack looked at him sympathetically and without judgement because he'd done the same as well.  
  
"I was out for almost two days. Probably overdid it but really didn't care. I had this dream.. more like a hunch... no, maybe a feeling-" he was getting agitated for not finding the right word.  
  
"Is he talking about an augury dream?" Irina asked curiously   
  
Jack supplied the equivalent word, "Foreshadowing?"  
  
"I think Irina said it correctly." The corner of his mouth turned up, "I still have my earpiece."  
  
She cleared her throat, "My apologies. If you prefer me not listening, I will comply to your wishes."  
  
"Might as well hear it now because I won't be repeating it." He said in a monotonic voice and launched into his dream. For the next two hours, it was eerie listening to his story and how similarly it played out tonight from his weird pull to head towards the safe-house in Hong Kong to Jack's attempted rescue and of course, the bad guys shooting off a few rounds. He knew that he had both of the Bristows' rapt attention and through it all, he was never interrupted, only gasps were heard. When he finished, he was drained from not only the day but also racking his brain to retell his dream.  
  
Irina broke the silence, "I've heard of similar cases, the tribulations of love and loss but I can't say I had heard one so deep, Mr. Vaughn. I know that you don't want to hear this, but I am truly honored for having the chance to see my daughter's soul mate in you."  
  
Jack cleared his throat, wondering at the unpredictability of Vaughn's nature and his response to what she just said, "Michael-"  
  
He held up a hand, stopping Jack before he said anything else, "Ironic as hell, isn't it?" A contriving laugh escaped him, "My other half is the daughter of the woman who cut my father's life short?"  
  
They heard a sob escape her before she was able to control it.  
  
"I don't believe in the ideology of sins of the parent unto the child." He said quietly and then took off his earpiece. Handing it to Jack, he turned his face towards the window meaning he was done for the night.  
  
Since another six and half hours were left until reaching Los Angeles, Jack went back to sit next to Sydney all the while going back and forth between the Ops center for updates and his original mission.  
  
When they finally did get to LA, Sydney was well rested enough to get around on her own and the CIA had a Retrieval Unit there to take them directly to the Joint Task Facility.  
  
She tried to block out all the changes and distractions as she, alongside her father, Vaughn and the Extraction Team walked through the Ops Center. There were a lot more Agents than she remembered, fear in the eyes of all the new recruits and admiration from all the others who knew her before.  
  
She was about to be immediately hustled off to Medical Services and before going, she thanked each agent for her rescue. They all left afterwards to give the last three privacy. She thanked her father, but didn't feel as comfortable to give him a hug.   
  
He was obviously disappointed by her smile but didn't push under the circumstances.   
  
Lastly, Vaughn was the only one left and as they stood toe to toe, they locked gazes once again.   
  
Even Jack felt like an outsider and though he wasn't a voyeur, he was fascinated by their interaction with all the emotions they were emitting.  
  
Silent communication reigned until Vaughn absent-mindedly ran his left hand across his face.  
  
When she noticed the ring, she recoiled as if she were struck physically.  
  
No words were exchanged as she watched the glow from his eyes diminished at her reaction to him. He then stepped back and left, without saying a word.  
  
He watched a few emotions flicker across after Vaughn's departure but in no time, she became cold again. "I'll be back." He said and watched sadly as she stiffly nodded. Looking back at her one last time, with a heavy heart, he left as well.  
  
Walking towards the rotunda, he heard Michael bark out his plans to Kendall, whom was caught off guard with the Agent's attitude.  
  
Knowing that Jack didn't want to waste any time, Will informed him that he already had another jet fueled and ready to take him back to Irina and their original mission. He made Will swear to keep an eye on Sydney while he was away and the young agent accepted his responsibility solemnly.  
  
As he was about to escorted back to the airport, Michael caught up with him just in time to disclose the minor details of why he was going to leave town again for a few days. He said he needed some time to deal with Sydney's reappearance and how they were going to deal with one another again.   
  
On the way to the airport, he thought about how many lives had just been changed. He was emphatically happy that Sydney was now back and also how Irina's soothing voice had kept him sane. He was startled to notice that the past 36 hours, despite all the non stop craziness, she had been his constant..._  
  
She was jolted out of her meditative state when she heard the access door of the roof open. The hour went by fast and she opened her eyes, taking in her daughter's features, after seeing her for the first time alive, functionally and healthy in almost two and half years. She wasn't too surprised when the first look thrown her way was full of ice.   
  
A malicious grinned flitted across her face, "Long time no see," Sydney said as she stood a few feet away from her mother. "Can't say that I missed you much."  
  
Irina, still calmly sitting in her meditative position, hid the hurt of her words and called her, in a gentle but authoritative tone, the only one thing she had given her daughter without any deceit or lies... her name.  
  
"Sydney..."  
  
And finally, a flicker of emotion came across the young woman's face when she noticed the older woman drop her facade, "Mom.."

********************************************************

I don't ask for much, people. Just read and review. Helps me to know if you all like it and if I should continue on with it. 


	5. Part 5

A **Strong PG rating** for a few cuss words.. Because the meeting between Spy Mommy and Daughter is finally here... 

Chapter 5

The CIA granted Sydney the freedom of leaving the cell to walk around the Facility but wasn't allowed to leave the premises. When she was informed that her mother requested a meeting and if she had been willing to accept, she had been surprised as ever at the extent of Irina's freedom.  
  
When the elevator stopped three floors before the roof for security purposes, she had been allowed to go up alone. Her escorts of armed guards backed away and left, giving her the privacy to go and meet with her mother. Walking up the stairs, she remembered the past few days, how emotionally spent she was from her teary reunion with Eric Weiss, Marcus Dixon and a few others but the most painful was her heartbreaking encounter with Vaughn and then secondly, finding out about who was Will's wife..._  
  
Since she had been given minimal clearance, Will and Eric had made time during the week to supply her with tidbits of information of the recent developments she had missed. They told her about missions for the CIA her parents went on as she pledged her loyalty to the Agency to fight against Sloane and Sark's return, but didn't elaborate too much about either.  
  
They also filled her in about Marshall and Carrie's wacky trek down the alter and their rise up the Agency ladder, Dixon's promotion, Weiss' senior status, her parents standing deals and even Will's marriage.   
  
She was curious to know who was the woman that captivated the former reporter's heart despite his frigid change. It seemed almost like old times, sadly missing one or two very significant people. With a few jokes from Will and the bickering of Eric, she tried to subtly ask about Will's wife.  
  
Puzzled, she noticed as their smiles and comfortable atmosphere deflated immediately while watching Will stand up, rigid as rolled tension into him. He wasn't talking until Eric became the voice of reason and encouraged him to get it out, despite the inevitable fall out.  
  
At Eric's acerbic comment about Will's marriage being the equivalent of her parents, she was on the edge as Will hesitantly began his story about Dr. Markovich's invention of the Doubling Process and the proverbial domino effect when she along with Lennox destroyed the machine.  
  
She blanched as he went deeper into the scientific explain of identity theft and its effects on the person. Although a nagging thought crept into her mind of who it could be, she pushed it away vehemently, not wanting to even dwell on the thought.  
  
For the next hour, he gave her the shortened version of what happened after that fatal fight. He told her that night, she hadn't been the only one to disappear; so did Sark and Francie's double all at the same time.   
  
Then a week after, Vaughn had vanished.   
  
He also told her how the CIA's leads to find any of them kept being dead ends until 16 months back, there was an unconventional walk in. It had been Sark's most trust worthy High Associate and also the only person who knew everything about him down to his name.   
  
"His Judas had been the woman who was his love..." was how Will finished his implausible tale.  
  
Not a word was spoken over the deadly silence. Eric instantly became alert at the body posture and the myriad emotions disclosed on her face but slowly anger, betrayal, shock and disgust were openly displayed. Although his eyes glazed over with rage, he said or did nothing as angry words of **one man's whore is another man's bitch** left her mouth.  
  
As the tears streamed down her face, she couldn't believe how changed this man became or didn't even ask who his wife was for it became obvious as to whom it really was..._  
  
Noticing she'd reached the door, she took a deep breath and shut down emotionally before walking through. It was incredible the deceptive picture her mother created in that meditative position, serene and calm but when she opened her eyes, that was what gave her away. Hidden behind those orbs were years of deception, untruths, and treachery.  
  
Not willing to give her a chance to break down her wall, Sydney opened up to her mother with a wicked grin, "Long time no see," keeping a couple of feet distance, "Can't say that I missed you much."  
  
Her mother didn't even blink or show any emotions. but in the manner she said her name, "Sydney..." said it all.  
  
A moment passed, "Mom.." she hesitantly let out.   
  
She watched her stand up and stretch, a beautifully lithe figure for a woman her age.  
  
Both fell into a deep silence, Sydney overlooking the city of Los Angeles while covertly, Irina watched her daughter from the corner of her eye, noting the changes with the way she proclaimed herself to the world.  
  
At the request of her husband, she had been given the chance to watch the first conversation with Will Tippin. Although she wasn't too happy with the way Sydney was being treated, she didn't want to jump in to cause problems. She had seen the mood swings and the way she snapped at people who walked on eggshells around her, so she decided to just be blunt.  
  
"A lot has happened and changed since you went missing, daughter." Irina said cautiously.  
  
She had seen the footage between her daughter and Vaughn. She was amazed at the clash but realized, in surprise, at how much she in anticipation of seeing them coming so close to kissing, only to both end up in sad tears.   
  
This angered Sydney, "I know that. Every damn person that has come to see me has been saying that but no one is telling me what the hell's happened._ What the **fuck** is it?!? _You and Francie's double, Alli- whatever the hell her name is are walking around Los Angeles like free people without a damn care in the world. While Will's married to her, Dad and you are back together. Vaughn is also married but he isn't the same Vaughn. Did I leave anything out?" she spat out.  
  
Irina was shocked at the vicious tone when she said his name, looked at her sympathetic eyes, understanding what she was going through. "That's basically the gist of it.. but who told you Michael Vaughn was married?" Two years may have not sounded like a long time but for someone who went missing and didn't participate during that bleak period only to wake up with no memory with so much missing time was a scary ordeal.  
  
The way her mother rephrased about Vaughn's marriage made her ask the next question, almost unconsciously, "So.. are you saying that he isn't married?  
  
Irina looked at her, catching the hopeful tone, even though she tried to mask it, "I didn't say that, Sydney." She saw the crest fallen look of her daughter, "He is.. in essence."  
  
She started her rampage again, "In essence? Why is everyone trying to protect me from the actual truth about him? Are they worried that I"ll go batty on him or his wife?" she finished while taking deep breaths to clam herself down.  
  
Irina stayed silent for a few minutes to let Sydney ground her anger and then tried to break the tension, "Batty? Should that be a word in the vocabulary of a renowned spy?" she asked with a smirk.  
  
Amusement flashed across Sydney's face, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you just cracked a joke."  
  
Irina huffed in mock anger, "I have been known to joke in my time, although it is so nice to know that your humor is still intact, honey."  
  
Finally a grin flitted across Sydney's face and the tension deflated quickly. Taking this as a sign, she motioned for her to take a seat on the bench near the door of the roof "Sit down.. because I have quite a story to tell you about what has happened for the past two years, Sydney Anne-"  
  
Sydney's head snapped up in shock, "You haven't called me that since-"  
  
"Since your sixth birthday? When you were in your second grade's piano recital at the Little Miss Junior's Talent Show? You were so smart.. even back then." Irina said with a wistful look and eyes full of tears. "Yes, I remember.."  
  
Both women shared a moment of silent tears.  
  
"Please have a seat, Sydney..." Irina repeated.  
  
The way she said it sent chills down Sydney's spine. She nodded and sat down, hugging her knees to her chest.  
  
Irina remembered how many times for the past few days or so that she had observed her daughter in that position, whether dazed while thinking or just sleeping. It seemed this was currently her favorite posture, almost as if drawing her body into a ball so nothing could get in through her barrier to hurt. Maybe this was not the best time to tell her..  
  
_"No.."_ Sydney said in a hard voice. "Now is the best time to tell me.."  
  
Startled, Irina nodded solemnly, "Okay.." She was surprised that she spoke out her last thought because she had never done that before. In the world of spies, a simple slip such as that would have killed her a long time ago. Taking a deep breath, she began, "It was the third month of the day you went missing and I went to Mount Sebacio to clear my head.. to get a new perspective on how to find you-"  
  
Sydney cut in, "Mount Sebacio? Hold it.. you _knew_ about the prophecy?"  
  
Irina gave her a look, "Of course. I also knew of how Jack, Agent Vaughn along with Agent Weiss defied their government to break you out of Federal custody so that you could go there to prove you were not the prophesied woman."  
  
Sydney had an incredulous look, "How?"  
  
"Just because I was MIA from you life did not mean that I didn't keep track of it."  
  
The temporary serene environment was broken when tears of anger and confusion swept back into Sydney's eyes, _"What does that mean?!?"_  
  
"Figure it out, Sydney. You are a smart woman.." Irina retorted.  
  
"You mean to tell me you had me followed, tagged and my privacy invaded?" Hurt rolled off in waves. "For how long? Months?"  
  
Irina looked down in shame.  
  
Disappointment became evident in Sydney's facial expression. "For years?"   
  
"To an extent.. yes.. but only to have you protected at all times."  
  
With that, Sydney exploded, "Is that how you justify it? You protecting me? Does that twisted version of protection also include shooting me in the shoulder at Taipei all those years ago?"  
  
This time, Irina's temper rose as well, "I had no choice. It was the ultimate test.. either I prove where my alliances lie or you and Agent Vaughn would have been killed instantly.." Tears started to drops, "You cannot fathom how much I regretted what I had done to you.." she said in between her cries, "...that I had to shoot my baby girl. But it was either that or watch you be killed in front of my eyes and I could never handle that."  
  
Sydney was crying as well, "I.. I want to believe you.. but all you've ever done.. is hurt me.."  
  
Irina nodded, and tried to calm herself down, "I know you think I am a heartless, cruel and manipulative ex-KGB **_bitch_** but I had to especially make your father and you as well as the rest of the world believe that in order to stay on the inside of the Alliance and Syndicate. I used my position to thwart a lot of Sloane's plans all the while protecting your father and you from getting those bastard's grimy hands on the two of you. If I had not, both of you would have been buried a long time ago."   
  
Irina finished, explaining her overall agenda but Sydney was hearing none of it. Sarcasm took the front role, "You assassinated twelve CIA Agents, one of who was Vaughn's father. Forgive me if I don't buy into this _**bullshit** _ that you're spewing about being capable of feeling... much less for me." She was furious, "This guilt trip you're using isn't going to work. Are you saying that you left us all those years ago, a woman who was an assassin and trained in the arts who had the skills of cold calculation, to protect us?" It seem the word protect was being thrown out without value.  
  
"Yes, I did leave you in order to save the lives of the two people I loved.. still love the most to this day. As hard as it may seem for you, I do have emotions, feelings of intense regret, guilt and self loathing on my part."  
  
Sydney shut down with the last of Irina's words, turning away from her with indifference in her tone, "Whatever. Remember what you taught me? _How actions speak louder than words?_ Seems you set a prime example of it; first by pretending you were dead and then shooting me."  
  
This aggravated Irina to the point of not being aware that she walked up to Sydney, grabbed one of her arms and twisting it back while shoving her to the wall next to the door. "Snap out of this self destructive path, Sydney. You are not doing yourself or the people around you any favors by jumping down their throats at every time they try to explain themselves to you."  
  
Shocked by the similar words spoken by Vaughn and the sudden moves of her, Sydney snapped back into reflex action a moment later by deftly kicking her in the shin. This caused Irina to loosen in her hold a bit and Sydney took advantage of it by pushing herself backwards, using the walk as her force and knocked her mother off balance. Taking this leverage, she quickly turned around and lashed out a fierce roundhouse kick near her mother's head.  
  
Irina, being a trained spy longer than Sydney had been alive, expected the next move and quickly dropped to her knees while extending one of her legs to perform a sweep kick.  
  
Sydney countered by flipping backwards into a fighting stance, one fist raised in the air while the other in front of her chest, breathing heavily.  
  
As Irina stood up to retaliate, Sydney went on the offensive without warning, launching into calculated kicks and punches. Even surprised, her mother blocked and threw a few out, but not in a threatening manner. She barely fought back but was hit hard a few times.   
  
The last punch, which connected with Irina's side, left her out of breath and in pain as she dropped on the floor.  
  
"_That's_ all it took to bring down the Great Irina Derevko? I've got to say I'm rather disappointed." A spiteful smirk made across Sydney's face as she noticed the grimace on the fallen woman, "Get up and stop acting as if you actually feel the pain."   
  
The ever cool and collected Irina Derevko was seething, "I do **damn well** know what it is like to feel pain. That night in Taipei, after I had convinced the Alliance and Syndicate of my loyalty, then just got up and left. I was furious and by the time I went back for you, you had already escaped. Unfortunately, Khasinau somehow found out and alerted one of the last leaving Alliance member's security section of your escape before coming to me. I quickly ran to that room and saw the blood trail you had left. I blew out the camera and locked myself in there to make it seem that we struggled. Then I shot myself in the shoulder-" she paused, lowering her voice, "-the same place where I shot you." She then proceeded to lower the left strap of her sleeveless top slowly.   
  
Sydney stepped back, looking at the scar around the same spot where her's were, astounded. "Why would you do that?"  
  
Irina voiced lowered considerably and continued on reminiscing as if Sydney didn't interrupt, "While the place was in chaos, I locked myself in there. I knew the whole place inside out and knew of the numerous ways of getting out of that room alone but decided to suffer the pain of what you went through. I still could not believe that I had finally gotten the chance to see you up close in almost twenty years and the first thing I do is.. is shoot at you."   
  
Her voice cracked even more, "The only thing I though about was.. even as cliched as it sounded, _'eye for an eye'_. Close to eleven hours passed until Khasinau and my incompetent minions found me. I bled out considerably and was taken to the medical wing where Agent Vaughn was kept before being transferred to Cap Ferret. With Khasinau's record, I couldn't tell you how relieved I was to find him alive. Immediately the doctors went to work on my wound but I refused the anesthetic. They all thought I wanted to be clear headed while being stitched up but my gaze was on your Agent the while time. I wanted to feel the raw pain-"  
  
Sydney's sharp tone cut through Irina's tirade, **_"Bullshit.."_** despite the tears dropping from her eyes.  
  
This explanation of her actions was her last line of defense and Irina could no longer hold back her raw emotions. She fell down onto her knees, crying.. shoulders slumped and her head down.. in defeat.  
  
For some reason, not understanding why watching the fall of calculated and infallible Irina Derevko gave Sydney no pleasure but all the years of hostility crept back up to break the older woman even further. "For two decades, you were dead to me.." Her voice rose as did her temper, "Only when I figured out how you apparently _'killed'_ yourself.. you suddenly come back, out of the blue, a few years back to reclaim you title as my mother, which by the way, you have no Goddamn right to. I know that I'm damaged goods.." she laughed sarcastically. "And while I may not be the ideal daughter.. I sure as hell did manage fine and go on with my life without your presence." Her next words were commanded, **"Look at me-"**  
  
A broken Irina _obeyed.. _looking up through her tears.  
  
"You were right when you described yourself earlier.." the cold glare in Sydney's eyes didn't change but threw back the same words Irina said before, "-a heartless, cruel and manipulative ex-KGB bit-"  
  
Suddenly, the loud bang of the metal roof access door slammed against the wall, cutting off Sydney's verbal assault on Irina. Out of the doorway came five armed guards and they were followed by one extremely angry man with a temper that matched her own.. if not more. **"Back the hell off-" **he yelled. "That's quite enough, Sydney. You've caused enough grief."  
  
Anger that boiled to the surface at her mother made everything too hazy to notice what was going on but she was able to pick up the tone in which the man yelled at her. Unfortunately though, because of her own tears, she was not able to see him clearly as he went to her mother, almost protectively. This action stunned her to the core that anyone would want to help her...  
  
The guards were smart enough to know that either Irina Derevko or this man could take them out within seconds so they smartly turned away.  
  
Although he knew the guards weren't aware of the whole conversation, they were keen enough to know when act _deaf and dumb._ He still stood in front of Irina, blocking her from their viewpoint while relaying his orders in an authoritative voice, "Make sure that Ms. Bristow is escorted back down... **now."** He stressed on the now and the guards scrambled to follow his orders. As two stood by the door, the other three started to walk before her. When she went down the first flight of steps, they other followed.   
  
After going down another one, she stopped suddenly and the guards tensed up. "At ease guys. I.. I just want to go apologize to my mother. Look.... I feel bad enough, so let me just do this, okay? And then I'll willing go down with you."  
  
The guards looked unsure in that course of action.  
  
A spark of anger flared in her and they all look scared.   
  
"We'll wait here for you, Ms. Bristow," One of the guards spoke up and the others reluctantly nodded in agreement.  
  
As she walked back up, she used those few moments to reflect on her unaccepted behavior towards her mother, feeling horrible at the many times she snapped by throwing back harsh remarks and retorts in her face. She also tried to analyze the voice of the man. Even though she heard his forceful command, she wanted to express a sliver of gratitude for breaking the hostile atmosphere between them.   
  
She had expected her father coming to the rescue.  
  
When she reached the roof access, she was totally unprepared for the sight...  
  
She stood still, shocked at what she was witnessing in front of her eyes. By the slight tenseness in which this man held the form of her weeping mother, it was obvious to see an uneasy truce of acceptance had been agreed upon between the two but the man holding the battered and sobbing Irina Derevko was not Jack Bristow.   
  
Out of all the people in the world, it was her devilishly handsome green eyed soul mate that was once her handler, then friend, accomplice, confidant, savior, partner and lastly, lover; not only holding but giving strength to the same woman who coerced the future of this eight year boy into the life of spies by killing his father. As ironic as it seemed, she was in the arms of the man to whom she caused so much pain but yet he was soothing her.  
  
In Russian, she heard her mother, "She hates me, _**Zyat."**_  
  
He responded back perfectly in her mother's native tongue, _**"Dumayu, chto net." I don't think so..**_ and then switched back to English, "She is afraid of opening up only to get hurt again. She is so closed off that she didn't even give me the chance to explain the ring." He sadly told her with his eyes downcast.  
  
Chalking it up to shear exhaustion, she tried to convince herself that what she was seeing or hearing wasn't actually taking place. She watched her mother go over to him and caress his cheek and although he flinched, his reaction to her closeness was more controlled than it had been since the last time she and Vaughn spoke about Irina.   
  
Sydney watched as her hand moved from his face to his hair, the scene almost as if a mother was tenderly trying to reassure a child.   
  
Almost.  
  
"I don't blame her reaction to me, Michael."  
  
"It is the same with me," He heard her contrite tone, "Every time she sees the ring, she recoils and then shuts me out. She doesn't know how much that hurts... its almost the equivalent of-" he broke off.  
  
She couldn't listen to what he had to say next. More tears fell as she turned to silently walked back downstairs. The guards became worried when they saw her tears and on alert once again followed her compliant form.  
  
Had she stayed instead of running, she would have heard the rest of his painful dialogue, "Sydney believes that I've been unfaithful to her. She thinks that I"m married and every time I try to explain, we keep getting interrupted."  
  
"I know, _**Zyat,"**_ she whispered, "I've seen."  
  
"Then you also know that she has found the scars on my wrist."  
  
_**"Da, k sozhaleniyu..." Yes, unfortunately...**_  
  
Both stayed on opposite sides of the roof for another hour, watching the sun go down each with contemplative expressions of how that paralleled their own lives.  
  
Sydney was the brightest spot in both of their lives, for Irina, the daughter who grew into a fearlessly beautiful woman and had the courage to lock head with her.  
  
For Vaughn, she was his_ 'one in five billion'._ When he was younger, his mother told him the about myths and legends, about how people believed that when people came into into the world, they came in pairs for their soul was split.   
  
For each to be reunited with their other half, it was the hardships that they would have to endure and overcome in life that would eventually bind them together.  
  
The were broken out of their moods when her cel phone rang. It was Jack, wanting to know how it went but she couldn't talk through her tears and he caught on.  
  
Both took deep breaths and walked down the back stairs, not wanting to see or talk to anyone... 

***********************************************************************

As we know, they aren't the ideal mother & daughter, and neither are their meetings. One of them always end up getting hurt or shot.. I'm not Russian so forgive me if I've used the words in any wrong tense. I'm trying to follow the characters as accordingly, and since there had been no mentions of any other Bristow siblings, obviously Sydney's the only child... 

By the way, cheers to everyone who knows what the word "ZYAT" means... and for all of you that don't, its Russian for "Son-in-law." 

Read and review!!! It makes my day... 


End file.
